The Way We Get By
by FictionInReality
Summary: What if Seth was an Atwood and Ryan was Sandy and Kirsten's biological son? How would life be different if Sandy had taken home an abused Seth to an indulged Ryan, as opposed to the other way around? An AU fic. Please R&R!
1. Prologue

_A/N- This is an AU fic about what if Ryan was Sandy and Kirsten's biological son, and Seth was an Atwood? What if Sandy brought Seth home to his family; how would life be different?_

_A/N 2- This was written by me and my cousin Ally (who has a chapter dedicated to her in one of my other stories(Hello, Sunshine)). It's her first fanfic and she's really excited about it :). _

_A/N 3- Please R&R and let us know if it's worth continuing..._

The Way We Get By

Prologue

Sandy Cohen flipped through the files on his desk at the D.A.'s office- drug arrests, gang fights, a whole bunch of priors. He sighed as he threw his head back on his chair; he only had one more case left for the day. Glancing at his picture of his son and wife perched askew on his desk, he stood up and went to meet the kid who was under arrest for car theft.

"Seth Atwood?" He asked as he approached the boy slouching at the table, staring pointedly at his fingernails. When he got no response from the boy, he continued, "I'm Sandy Cohen. I've been assigned to your case," Still no response. He paused and continued, "So, I've been looking over your records. You've got good grades, when you're at school, good standardized test scores- what happened?" The kid seemed to notice Sandy for the first time and he met his eyes.

"My brother came and convinced me to help him steal a car. We got busted. That's all." Sandy nodded and couldn't help but notice the look in the boy's eyes; he seemed like he must be a funny kid ordinarily, despite what the world had dealt him, but at the moment he just wanted to get out of there and go somewhere where he would be safe and loved. Sandy had a feeling that he hadn't had a place like that to go in some time- maybe since he was a kid. His heart ached as he thought of his own son, Ryan, who he knew must be at home right now playing his Playstation without a care in the world. _How could two kids the same age be so different?_

"Well, Seth, we got you out on parole, but you're on probation now." He looked up at the kid, expecting to see a look of relief; what he got was a look of fear and worry.

"What about Trey?"

"Trey is over 18, Trey stole a car, Trey had a gun in his pants and an ounce of pot in his jacket and a couple of priors. I'm guessing that right now Trey is looking at 3 to 5 years. But Trey's not my concern. You are. And for now, you're out with probation. Come with me." He led the boy outside and, for the first time, got a good glimpse of who he had been talking to.

The boy was about six foot one, with messy, curly brown hair, with a slender build and some slight muscles that Sandy assumed were built while fending for his life on the street. He couldn't help but remember that feeling from when he was a kid growing up in New York. His thought train was interrupted by the screech of tires and a disheveled blonde woman screaming.

"Seth, get your ass in the car, you little bitch! I'd expect this from your brother, but you? You've fucked up, Seth, and I don't know what I'm going to do with you! But I can promise you it won't be fun!" Sandy, wide-eyed, looked at the boy, who was again studying his fingernails.

"Listen," he breathed, turning to face the kid, "here's my card. It has my house and cell numbers in case you need anything. Don't hesitate to give me a call." Seth looked at the man questioningly; he had never known any adult to be so understanding before. He gave Sandy a half-smile, accepted the card, and got into the car.

Back at his tiny house, his mom's new boyfriend had found out about the arrest, and had found it to be a great excuse to hit the teenager.

"You think we're going to bail you out every time you fuck up? There's no way!" He leaned in to hit Seth and Seth recoiled; he had learned long ago not to hit back when his mom's fling-of-the-week was pissed, and this time it was extraordinarily bad. Seth glanced at his mother, hoping that she would come and protect him, like she did when he was a little boy and was afraid in the middle of the night. Lamely, she only stood there and watched on, occasionally sipping at her cheap tequila; he felt a surge of rage overcome him. He went to hit back, but before he could do anything, he vaguely heard AJ snap, "Get out! Go find someone else to piss off and mooch off of!" Seth's eyes glazed over and he quickly recovered, standing up and looking over to his mother again, hoping only she would come to his defense.

"Mom?" She merely nodded her head towards the door and returned to the kitchen to get another tequila. His fury blinded him and he couldn't help but scream, "FINE!" like a petulant three-year-old. He stormed into his "room", actually a makeshift corner of his tiny house with two beds, one for him and one for Trey, and threw all of his white t-shirts, his one hoodie, and a few pairs of jeans into a duffel bag and began to storm out of the house, realizing that he had forgotten his closest friend. He turned around and grabbed a plastic pony, Captain Oats, from his bed.

Seth couldn't help but fume as he remembered how he got the pony. It had been his eighth birthday, when he still lived in Fresno, before his father had gotten arrested. His dad had given it to him as a birthday gift, and told him to remember that, whenever he was scared or alone, he could hold onto it and know that his parents loved him. The next week his father had gotten arrested for armed robbery. He hadn't seen him since. Captain Oats was all he had left, and he couldn't forgive his father for that.

Slamming the door behind him, he grabbed his skateboard (that he had gotten a few years back as a Christmas/Birthday present (his mother had been too poor to get him separate gifts for each, so she got him one gift for the two occasions)). He rode down to the shopping center downtown and pulled the card, whose corners had already frayed, out of his pocket, quickly dialing the cell number provided.

"Hello?... Yeah, hi, it's Seth Atwood..." A half-hour later, Sandy pulled up in a black Mercedes; Seth was visibly impressed, "I didn't know your kind of lawyer made any money." Sandy smiled; his instincts about this kid had been right,

"We don't. My wife does." He motioned for Seth to get in the car and they started the long ride back to Newport to meet Kirsten, Ryan, and the rest of their dysfunctional OC family. Seth was in for a long ride.


	2. Smile Like You Mean It

_A/N- Thanks for all the reviews, guys! We're really glad we can make a story you've been waiting for and we'll try our best to make it good lol Keep R&Ring cuz we write faster when we have incentive :)_

_A/N2- Answering questions- We decided that it's going to be traditional MarissaRyan, SethSummer because of the fact that we've both spent entire weekends watching our Season 1 DVDs and after that, it's difficult to write other couples lol. And Ryan will be jockish, but not crazy mean jerk jockish (like Luke at the beginning of season 1). Plus, we're keeping their personalities the same, otherwise the story wouldn't be interesting. Seth is still sarcastic, but a little darker and more nervous than in the show and Ryan is still quiet and athletic, but not AS brooding as in the show because, well, because he's a Cohen and has very little to brood about. Though, don't quote us as saying there'll be NO brooding Ryan. Cuz brooding Ryan is sorta fun to write..._

Smile Like You Mean It

"Wait here for a minute, I just have to go talk to the wife," Sandy told Seth, pausing anxiously to look at the keys sitting in the ignition. Seth noticed the gesture, and quickly answered the older man's unasked question with a smile,

"It's no fun if the keys are in the ignition." Sandy laughed at the boy's wit; his own son was slightly more serious, and had he said it, it would have seemed more grave than the way Seth had portrayed it. He really liked the kid, who had been cracking jokes to break any uncomfortable silence in the car. _I just hope Kirsten feels the same way, _He thought blandly as he climbed out of the car, making his way into his large house.

Seth, needing to stretch his legs, got out of the car and made his way down the driveway. He stood and breathed in the warm summer air; it was cleaner here than back in Chino. Suddenly, unexpectedly, he heard footsteps behind him. He instinctively spun around in a defensive maneuver to find a girl his age walking down the Cohen's driveway. She was tall, thin, and beautiful. But not his type. She was too tall for him, her hair was dirty blonde while he preferred brunettes, for some reason he just wasn't attracted to that type of girl. For a fleeting moment he considered that maybe he would be attracted to one of her friends, but he pushed it to the back of his mind, quickly returning to his normal, funny self.

"Hey," The girl said curiously, sizing Seth up in the dim moonlight.

"Hey," Seth repeated, giving the girl a half-smile. There was an awkward pause that not even Seth could fill, and she quickly tried to start a conversation.

"You here with the Cohens?" Seth considered for a moment- how much did Sandy really want known? He decided a nod would suffice and she chose to continue questioning him, "Did you just pull in with Sandy?" another nod, "I'm Marissa. I live next door."

"Seth. Mr. Cohen brought me home."

"What are you here for?"

"Honestly? Mr. Cohen is my lawyer. I wish it could be for something cool like holding up a liquor store or kidnapping a celebrity, but it was just um... let's say... unwilling car theft. I was with my brother when he stole a car. He made me jump in and I got arrested when my stupid, drunk brother crashed it. My mom kicked me out and Mr. Cohen took me in." Seth silently cursed his habit of nervous rambling, hoping he hadn't divulged too much personal information. He waited for Marissa to run, or smack him, or any combination of the two. What she did instead, however, shocked and confused him. As she began to laugh, Seth was puzzled, "What?" She levelly looked him in the eye,

"You're Ryan's cousin from Boston, right?" Seth quickly got the game she was playing; there was no way she'd believe the truth. Nodding enthusiastically, he responded,

"Yup. Seth Atwood. Ryan's cousin from Boston," He felt stupid for responding so dumbly, but decided to prod into this girl's life (She had prodded into his, even if she hadn't believed him), "How do you know Ryan?" Seth knew that Ryan was Sandy's son; he had explained on the way over.

"Oh... I'm his girlfriend, Marissa. I'm sure he's mentioned me." Seth shook his head silently, then looked the girl directly in the eye; he had learned early that to lie convincingly it was necessary to give direct eye contact.

"We don't talk often, so those kind of things don't really come up so much. How long have you two been dating?"

"Since fifth grade." Seth was taken aback; they started young in Orange County.

"Oh. Well, we really don't talk much. Not that we don't want to. Just never get the chance." He was saved the further anguish of rambling to the stranger by a tap on the shoulder. He turned to find Sandy behind him, smiling expectantly.

"I see you two have met."

"Hello, Mr. Cohen," Marissa greeted politely.

"Marissa, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Cohen."

"And how's my son? I haven't seen him all day and I know you two spent all night together." Marissa blushed and smiled at Sandy; they were pretty close as far as those kind of relationships go, and she knew that Sandy loved to tease her.

"He's fine. We studied tonight; expect an A on his history test." Sandy winked at her,

"Yeah, sure." Her blush deepened and she said a hasty goodbye, retreating to her house next door.

Sandy put his arm around Seth's shoulder and led him up the long driveway to the oversized door. They opened the front door and Sandy led Seth, whose mouth was gaping, into the kitchen, face-to-face with his wife, Kirsten.

"Hello, Seth. I'm Kirsten. I'm the wife. Welcome to our home. You can put your stuff in the poolhouse, that's where you'll be staying."

"Uhh...yeah...ok..." Seth stuttered, not quite sure of what to say, "thank you so much for letting me stay in your home. Especially with such short notice and seeing that, you know, well everything that's happened, and everything that I did, and, well, it's so great that" He knew he was rambling, but he couldn't stop himself. It emanated from trouble he had gotten into as a little boy, when he had attempted to talk his way out of getting hit by his mother's fling-of-the-week.

"Yeah, no problem" Kirsten said; she felt bad that this kid was so nervous; she interrupted him to prevent him making more of a fool of himself than he already had.

Seth stepped into the spacious poolhouse and drew a sharp intake of breath. _This is the _poolhouse_? It's bigger than my house... wow, this is some life they have. _

He unpacked all of his things, laying down on the bed with Captain Oats on top of his chest,

"Well, buddy, this is gonna be... interesting."

Sandy climbed into bed and recalled Kirsten's reaction to Seth not a half hour earlier.

"Sandy, you brought him home? I can't believe you sometimes! He is not a puppy!"

"Kirsten, he needed somewhere to go."

"Well, why does our home have to be that 'somewhere'? What about Ryan? Did you even think about him?"

"His mother abandoned him; he has no home. Ryan won't care. He might even be excited. Remember when he was a kid, he used to ask for a brother?"

"Fine. He can stay for the weekend. But if Ryan's uncomfortable with this, he's out."

The next morning, Seth awoke with a start. He sat up in the bed and blinked to adjust to the light. _It really wasn't a dream. _He thought, taking in the poolhouse for the first time in the light, _I'm really here. _He slowly got up and pulled on his t-shirt before making his way into the main house.

"Hey," he said with curiosity to the blonde boy, about his age, sitting on the floor in front of the couch. _Must be Ryan. _Seth thought, not quite sure what to do.

In between handfuls of Froot Loops from the box, he looked back up at Seth. "Hey," Ryan said. _So this was the "kid from Juvie" that dad brought home. Ok, well, let's see what he's all about, _" you... wanna play some video games?"

Seth exhaled- at least Ryan was accepting him.

"Uhh..sure...I guess...i mean if you don't mind...and, I haven't exactly played in a while, and i might not be that good, so" He cursed himself silently. _STOP RAMBLING!_ Ryan was struck by Seth's nervousness,

"Um, so you do wanna play or... we could do something else?"

Seth smiled and shook his head no, this game would be fine. Grabbing the controller, he sat down next to Ryan,

"What game?"

"Well I was playing this football game, Madden. But I have Grand Theft Auto too...that's a pretty good game. You steal cars and then..." Ryan told Seth as he slipped some cereal into his mouth, realizing what he had just said. _Damn, his rambling's rubbing off._

"Yeah..."Seth interrupted him, letting his mistake slide, "Let's just play Madden."

"Yeah, good idea...sorry about that." Seth sighed,

"Don't worry about it."

After several games of Madden, Ryan was bored of being inside,

"Wanna go do something? Maybe go down to the beach?" Ryan asked; he was sick of Newport, but maybe this kid could bring something interesting to the table.

"Uhh... alright. Sounds cool..." Seth said skeptically; he'd never really spent much time at the beach.

The two boys walked down the long path in the backyard, and down to the beach that lay conveniently in the backyard.

Ryan took of his shirt, getting ready to go into the water,

"Come on, let's go in the water or something."

"Uh... nah. I'll just wait here..."

"C'mon, man. It's alright; the water's actually nice today." Seth shook his head lightly, casting his eyes downward,

"I actually... I can't swim."

"Oh, ok. No problem." Ryan took a seat on the sand in complete silence as Seth wandered over to a small sailboat; he found it very intriguing.

"So, uh...whose is this?"

"Oh that's mine, but I don't really use it too much. Just when my grandpa comes over. He takes me out on it... he bought it for me. He wanted to teach me, but I never really got into it." Seth said nothing, still staring at the boat, "So, you ever go sailing?"

"Not really. I mean, I went on a boat once with my dad, before he was locked up. But never a sail boat. I was, like, seven. I really liked it, and he always promised me that I could do it again sometime... guess that'll never happen. Maybe I could organize a breakout or something, though I'm not sure if he'll appreciate the reason for it."

"Let's go."

"What?"

"Put on the lifejacket and help me push it out. Let's go."

Seth did as he was told and put on the orange lifejacket, pushing the boat into the water and jumping in. Seth couldn't help but notice Ryan's well-built body.

"You work out?" Seth questioned Ryan, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Nah, not really. I play soccer, but that's it... you?" Ryan asked Seth, eyeing his tall, slender body with some vague muscle tone.

"Nah me neither." There was an awkward silence between the boys for a moment before Seth began another conversation, "So, that girl who lives next door..."

"Marissa?"

"Yeah. I met her last night. She's your..."

"My girlfriend. We've been dating for, like, six years."

"Seems nice."

"She's the best... you have a girlfriend?"

"No... I'm not great around girls." Ryan paused for a second and considered,

"Summer would be perfect for you." Seth was confused, but quickly retorted,

"And you're a winter." Ryan laughed and looked out on the ocean before looking back at Seth,

"No, no. Summer Roberts. She's Marissa's best friend. You'd really like her."

"Really?"

"Definitely." They sailed a bit longer, discussing Sandy and Kirsten, Marissa, Summer, school, and Seth's background. Ryan noted that he felt at ease around Seth like no one else that he'd known. He was always a bit more silent (and not nearly as cocky) than the rest of the Newport crew, but this kid brought out a talkative side in Ryan- one that his father would've been proud of.

At the same time, the boys realized that they were back at the Cohens' private beach and jumped out of the boat, removing their life vests and putting their shirts back on.

"That was really...relaxing."

"Yeah, I haven't done that in a while."

"Hey, Ryan! Seth!" They turned to the sound of Sandy's voice calling them from up the pathway. They turned to find Sandy walking quickly towards them.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hi, Mr. Cohen."

"Seth, it's Sandy. Mr. Cohen is... well, he's not me." Seth nodded in acknowledgement and glanced at the seascape.

"Dad, you going surfing?" Ryan asked, looking at his father's wetsuit.

"Already did- a while ago... So Ryan, about that fashion show later. I was thinking we would go around seven. You can loan Seth one of your suits that's too long on you." Ryan nodded and stole a look at Seth, who had been staring out into the water, but was jolted back to the people in front of him by the mention of his name.

_Why do they need a fashion show? Everyday is probably a fashion show for these people. I mean, other than Marissa and Ryan, my guess is that there's not many accepting people in this town._

"Okay, dad."

"Yeah, sounds like...fun." Seth added, trying to hide the fact that the idea really bothered him.  
Sandy walked back up to the house, with the boys following him.

"So Ryan, how are these things?"

"Boring as all hell. But you get used to it."

"Well, maybe I should just stay here. You're gonna get some weird looks hanging out with the kid from juvie. Besides, your suit probably won't even fit me. I'm taller and thinner. It's gonna be big and short on me. Maybe I'll just stay back and hang with Captain Oats tonight."

"Captain who?" Ryan asked, his interest piqued.

"Oh... never mind," Seth blushed.

"And calm down... I have suits of all shapes and sizes. My grandpa made my mom get me a whole bunch because 'I'm a growing boy, Kirsten. You never know when I might shoot up seven inches overnight.'," He paused for a second, opening the door to the poolhouse, "Besides, you know me, and my mom and dad. It'll be fine, and whoever Captain Oats is, you could bring him if you really want to. Whatever makes you comfortable. Besides, Summer will probably be there."

"Yeah...great... then maybe I can meet fall and spring also," Seth mumbled the last part under his breath, but Ryan heard and laughed.

"Will you chill? It'll be fine." Seth really didn't want to go, but he knew there was no way Ryan was letting him out of it.

Seth found a suit laid out on the bed and picked it up, holding it to himself,

"I don't think I've ever worn a suit before..." Ryan looked up at him curiously,

"Well, get used to it." Ryan sat down haphazardly on the bed before quickly jumping back up, "Ow!" Seth turned around quickly; he knew from experience that the word "ow" was never a good thing to hear, "Ahh shit that hurt."

"What, what happened?" Ryan turned around and looked on the bed to see what had hurt him.

"I sat on a plastic horse."

"Oh... Ryan, meet Captain Oats," Seth said as he looked down at the floor.

Ryan looked at Seth, confused, as Seth walked over to him and grabbed the horse out of his hands, putting him down gently on the pillow.

"Wow," Ryan let out, a bit confused by what had just happened.

"Yeah, my one and only friend," Seth cast his eyes downward- he had never really had any friends in Chino. He was different. An outcast. A misfit.

"Well, he isn't your one and only friend anymore. I mean, I'm your friend. Right?" Seth smiled to himself, then looked up at the boy he'd come to regard as a good friend,

"Right."


	3. Just A Ride

_A/N- We looooove the reviews! In fact, we were so inspired by the reviews that we sat down and wrote the whole chapter (including getting ideas and beta'ing) in one weekend. So, keep reviewing and we'll keep writing!_

_A/N2- Questions! The Luke and his posse problem... will be solved in this chapter. And the whole KirstenRyan thing... also will be remedied in this chapter. Lol. Enjoy!_

Just a Ride

Seth stood in front of the full-length mirror in the poolhouse, tugging at his collar in a futile attempt to have it sit properly on his suit jacket. He jumped as he heard a knock on the pool house door, and he looked at the reflection to see Ryan standing on the other side of the window.

"Come in" he called over his shoulder.

"Hey man, you almost ready?" Seth noticed how different Ryan looked dressed up. Ryan stood confidently in his black suit and blue tie, his bangs feathered nicely across his face, and his hands in his pockets. _I wonder if I'll ever be that comfortable in one of these things._

"Uhh... almost... gimme a couple of minutes..." He said, still staring at himself in the mirror.

"Alright." Ryan, still having to brush his teeth, turned and opened the door to return to the house.

"Hey, dad," Seth heard Ryan say as he passed through the door.

"Hey, kid. You almost done?"

"Yeah, just have to go brush my teeth."

"Your mother wants to talk to you before you go. She's up in our room."

"Ok..." he paused and considered, "Can I go in without nightmares?"

"Yes, son. She's all dressed and ready to go."

"Ok."

"Hey, kid," Sandy stepped up behind Seth and put his hand on his shoulder. Seth flinched involuntarily; in his experience, adults touching you never ended well. _Sandy is not going to hit you. Will you relax!_ "You look good. Except, where's your tie?"

"Oh, um...Open neck, much more The Killers. Thought maybe I'd add some eyeliner and lipgloss and make the look official." Sandy's face crinkled in confusion, but he chose to move past the comment,

"I see. So it's not because you can't tie a tie?"

"No... Maybe... Yeah."

"That's what I thought. You know, I couldn't tie a tie until I was 25. Here, let me help you." Seth turned around obediently and Sandy leaned forward, reaching for the long red tie hanging on the mirror.

"So who's gonna be at this thing, anyone interesting?" Seth asked, trying desperately to make conversation; he hated empty silences.

"Well, Ryan and Marissa...and the usual group of insane rich people."

"Ooh I can't wait. It'll be just like home. I really know how to deal with insane rich people," Seth mumbled under his breath, though Sandy heard him and laughed. He really liked this kid; Seth had a charisma about him that couldn't be beaten down, despite his rough past.

"Tell me about it. I grew up in the Bronx." Seth smiled. He was glad he had someone he could relate to, for once in his life.

"So you ready?"

"Yup," Seth sighed.

"You only think you're ready. But this is nothing like you've ever experienced." He winked at Seth and left the room, a stunned Seth gaping open-mouthed behind him.

A few minutes later, Seth stood out front of the spacious house, waiting for Ryan to come out. When he finally did step over the threshold, Seth found him scratching his head, a bit perturbed.

"What happened, man?"

"Your mom ever have the sex and drugs talk with you?"

"No... I usually had to give that one to my mom..." He paused and allowed his mind to wander to his mother, wondering what she was doing, for a second. He snapped back to reality and asked Ryan, "Why? What happened?"

"_Ryan, I know your friends are all doing things that we'd rather you not do. And we're not stupid enough to think that you won't do them. But please, please be careful about it. Try to resist getting drunk or using drugs or... doing things with Marissa... It's not worth it. And if you really have to, please be safe. Call dad or me if you get drunk and we'll come and get you, no questions asked. And if you and Marissa want to do anything, just please, be safe. I'm too young to be a grandma,_" Ryan mimicked his mother in a mock-female voice.

"Hey, sounds like she really cares about you."

"Only child," he explained briefly before climbing into the back seat of his mother's black Range Rover.

After a tense car-ride over, in which Ryan only answered his mother in one-word responses, the Cohens and Seth arrived at the fashion show. Ryan quickly spotted Marissa across the room and strode over to her, Seth on his heels, while Sandy and Kirsten headed off in the opposite direction to chat with the other adults.

"Hey, Mariss," Ryan greeted, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey Ry!" she replied happily as his arm snaked around her waist.

"Mariss, this is..." Ryan started, motioning at Seth.

"Seth. Yeah we've already met. Nice to see you again," Marissa interrupted and Seth lifted his hand in greeting,

"Hey."

"And Seth, this is Summer," Ryan spoke up again, pointing at a short brunette who had just appeared next to Marissa.

Seth had an immediate attraction to the girl. She had long, dark hair and beautiful brown eyes. He, later, would almost go as far as to say that it was love at first sight.

"H...h...hi." Seth stammered as his eyes grew wider, taking in the sight in front of him. He was so nervous around this girl and he was terrified that his infamous rambling would soon make an appearance.

"So... Marissa told me that you're Ryan's cousin from Boston?"

"Uh... yeah... Boston ...right. I'm from Boston." He shoved his trembling hand into his pants pocket and smiled shyly at Summer.

Summer stood nervously in front of him; she found herself strangely attracted- even with his rambling. She didn't know what it was. He was cute, but in a different way than the other guys she was usually attracted to. _There's something about him... he's not an ass. That's an attractive quality... I don't think I've ever felt this way about a guy before. Not even the guy who I made out with last summer... Matt something... or Mike... Mark?_

"Well," Marissa's voice brought Summer back to reality, " Summer and I have to go backstage and get changed- the show is gonna start soon." Marissa gave Ryan a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away with Summer.

As Seth and Ryan turned to look for a table, Seth quickly whispered to his friend,

"I think I have a new favorite season." Ryan chuckled as he scanned the room for somewhere to sit. Seth beat him to it, "Hey Ryan, who are those guys?" Seth pointed to a crowded table overflowing with well-built teenagers; a lot of them were blonde, (though most not naturally, though Ryan was) and once they all glanced at Seth and Ryan, none of

them seemed to be in any rush to welcome the new boy, "Are those your friends?"

"Umm, yeah. Well, sorta," Ryan tried to explain.

"Well then why don't we go and sit with them?"

"Umm, " Ryan stuttered, "I don't think that's such a great idea. Let's just sit...uh," Ryan looked nervously around the spacious room in an attempt to find an empty table, "Over there, near my parents."

"Are you...embarrassed for me to sit with them? Because I could just stay over here or something..." Seth stated, jamming his hands into his pockets.

"What? No! It's just that my friends, well those guys, are just... gigantic assholes. That's all." Ryan tried to explain, and was relieved once Seth put his arm around him,

"Ok. Let's go sit with your parents."

As the show began, Marissa bound confidently onstage and caught Ryan's eye, winking at him from behind her podium. He smiled at her, proud of how beautiful she looked in her long, elegant, light pink silk dress, her hair pulled back perfectly. Everyone applauded as she took the microphone,

"Thank you, thank you. Thank you all so much for coming. Every year we put on a fashion show to raise money for the battered woman's shelter. It's such a good cause, you guys and we couldn't do any of it without your support and the support of Fashion Island and all their great stores. All right, enjoy the show!"

The applause continued as Summer strutted out, giving Marissa a high-five as she passed. Her hair was up in a bun, allowing her colorful dress to be the center of attention.

"Whoa she...she's gorgeous..." Seth said to himself under his breath.

"What was that, Seth?" Ryan asked, unable to control his laughter; he had heard what Seth had said.

"Hmm? What? I... I didn't say anything."

"Uh, yeah you did..." Ryan corrected him, "You have a thing for Summer, don't you?"

"N..No..."

"Mmh Hmm... Hate to say 'I told you so', but..." Ryan lifted an eyebrow.

"Okay, I do. I think I'm in love with this girl, Ryan!" Ryan laughed heartily and punched Seth playfully on the arm as Seth sheepishly looked at his plate.

For the rest of the show, girls walked on and off stage, in different outfits, though nothing caught Ryan's attention unless it was Marissa, and nothing caught Seth's attention unless it was Summer. They spent the majority of the time talking and joking. Before they knew it, the show was over, and they were out front, walking down the building's front steps. They spotted Summer was stalking towards them,

"Oh my god, Ryan! Summer's coming over here!" Seth whispered.

"Um hey guys." Summer said, moving closer towards Seth.

"H...hey...S..Sum..Summer."

"Well, my friend Holly, well, Holly's parents, are letting us have a party at her beach house- you know, for all that good, charity junk we did." Ryan looked away, but all Seth could do was stare, "Anyway, I was wondering if you guys wanted to go, or needed a ride there or something."

"Uhh...give us a second?" Ryan needed to explain some things to Seth.

"Sure, Cohen. I'll be over there." Summer walked towards the big yellow jeep, piled with all of her friends.

"Hey, Seth, look, I know these kind of parties, and believe me when I say that they aren't for us."

"What are you talking about dude! Summer invited me to a party! The most beautiful girl I have ever seen invited me to a party!" Seth exclaimed; he was acting like a child on Christmas morning, "I mean, you are used to girls asking you out- you have Marissa. I have nothing like that. I wasn't exactly popular among the girls in Chino. It's all new for me."

"Hey, that's no fair. I'm half Jewish. I don't deal well with guilt. Besides, you'll have plenty of time to hang out with Summer. But seriously man, these aren't our kinda parties. They're really... hardcore." Ryan tried in vain to convince Seth to go home and play video games instead, but he broke when he saw how much Seth wanted to go. "Fine, let's go." Ryan turned to his parents, motioned that he was going to Holly's and that his cell phone was on, and set off towards the yellow car.

The two boys jumped into the back of the Jeep, and they sped off to Holly's beach house.

Inside the large home, Ryan leaned over to Seth's ear and whispered warningly,

"Welcome to the dark side, buddy." Seth, mouth agape, quickly leaned into his

friend's ear

"If drunk girls in bikinis is the dark side, just call me Darth." Ryan laughed and allowed himself and Seth to wander around the party.

"Hey Ryan, it's those kids that are your friends...sorta...but not really." Seth looked over at the jocks, who Ryan meticulously trying to avoid any eye contact with.

"Uh... yeah. Cool."

"What's the deal, dude? Why are you so...weird...whenever I bring them up!"

"Look, they are just really big jerks, and I don't really like them so much."

"Then why are they 'your friends'?"

"Let's just say it's really hard to fit in around here unless you know the right people."

"Ryan! You're using them! Bad, bad Ryan."

"Yeah well, at least I didn't steal a car." Seth laughed; he was glad that Ryan was so comfortable around him, and Ryan was glad that he could be himself around Seth.

The boys continued walking together throughout the party before Ryan ran into Marissa.

"Hey Seth, Marissa and I are gonna go walk around. You gonna be okay by yourself?"

"Yea, Yea, no... go ahead. I'll just go talk to... that guy over there."

Seth wandered aimlessly, intrigued by the activities he was witnessing. Especially all of the people sitting around a table doing cocaine. He was shocked that Newport Beach was so similar to Chino. He didn't think that the OC was that kind of place. He decided that he was thirsty and wandered out to the backyard to get a drink from the keg, and then walked out onto the beach. Suddenly, he accidentally bumped shoulders with a strong body. He glanced up to find Luke, the jock that Ryan had spoken so badly of.

"Oh, and who is this dork?" Luke said as his gang of jocks laughed. Seth only stood quietly. Growing up, he had learned that fighting was not the way to fix a problem; he had scars to prove his theory, "Come on queer, say something." Seth inhaled deeply and pulled out his strongest weapon- sarcasm,

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I was distracted by the lovely shirt you're wearing" Seth noted.

"Are you hitting on me or something?"

"No, no, you're not my type. I prefer brunettes. I was hitting on your

shirt."

"Oh, you are really funny man." Luke stood tall, attempting to make himself seem more intimidating to Seth.

"Am I, now? Well, thank you. Maybe you can help me get a job on Best Week Ever. You got connections?"

"What is your problem man!" Luke gave Seth a shove.

"My problem? Just that you pushed me..." Seth could tell that he had gone too far, and began to revert into his proverbial shell, "But, you know what, I can deal with that. I'm just going to be quietly leaving now. Nice meeting you."

Seth turned around and walked straight into the other jocks.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere, queer."

"You guys really wouldn't hurt me, because, you know, that'd be so cliché." Seth said as Luke and his cronies picked him up. "Oh, I guess you're fans of the cliché."

"Hey! Put him down!" Seth heard Ryan's voice through the crowd that had gathered, "Leave him alone!"

"Oh, Cohen, is this kid with you?" Luke gave him a weird look. "Why are

you defending this him? I thought we were your friends!"

"Yeah...well, so is he!"

"So then, you're a queer too. Never took you for one, Cohen."

"Luke, put him down."

"Or what, Cohen? You'll get your daddy and he'll get me out of jail like he does with all the other poor assholes?" Luke hadn't meant it as an insult, but Ryan took it

personally for his friend.

Ryan lunged at Luke and hooked him in the jaw. In seconds, the whole water polo team had ganged up against the muscular blonde boy. They began to punch him, collectively, before Seth jumped in and hit one right in the face. Who, he didn't know; the boys all looked the same to him.

"I thought I left this behind," Seth whispered to himself as another teammate of Luke's crashed on top of him, punching him in the eye.

After five minutes, the jocks stopped hitting; they had obviously won. As they began to leave, Luke turned around,

"Welcome to the O.C., bitch! This is how it's done in Orange County!"

"Oh boy do I feel welcomed." Seth muttered weakly; Ryan couldn't help but laugh. As the boys lay on the ground, fighting for air, he simply stated, "Ouch..." Ryan groaned in response,

"Tell me about it."

Twenty minutes later, the boys had gathered themselves and begun the long walk home.

"Nice shiner you got there Ryan"

"Back at ya, Seth"

"I haven't had one of these in a while... like... two weeks..."

"My mom is going to flip"

"Yeah... your mom seems sweet."

"Well, she's very protective."

"At least she cares. My mom...has never cared about me, my mom never cared where I was going or anything. You're lucky to have your mom."

"Yeah, I guess I am. My moms pretty cool." Ryan grinned sheepishly at his new best friend and realized how lucky he truly was.

An hour later, when they reached home, Seth beat a hasty retreat to the pool house; he was exhausted from the night's activities.

Meanwhile, Ryan went into his room and changed into pajamas before entering his parents' darkened bedroom to find his mother asleep. Ryan climbed into bed with her, like he used to when he was a little boy.

"Ryan?" she asked groggily as he lay down in the middle of the king sized bed.

"Can I sleep in here tonight?"

"Sure, sweetie. What happened?"

"Nothing, mom. Go back to sleep."

"Ok. Night sweetie. I love you."

"I love you too, mom."

They both drifted off to sleep; Kirsten glad to have her little boy in her arms, and Ryan thrilled to be that little boy.


	4. Author's Note

OK, I usually don't like these so much, but I think it's necessary in this case. We are_ not_ abandoning this story. It's just that both of our lives have been so hectic lately. One of us (Lindsay) is a Junior in High School, I have finals, AP Tests, and SATs coming, not to mention the fact that I'm very obsessive with updating Hello Sunshine (Or HS as we've come to refer to it). The other has been having some issues with her friends, school's been a pain in the butt, and has had basketball, gymnastics, etc. to keep up with. We are working on the new chapter right now and it should be out shortly. Sorry to keep you guys waiting!

Lindsay and Ally


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